This Oral History is copyrighted by the Interviewee
and Samuel Proctor Oral History Program on
behalf of the Board of Trustees of the University of
Florida.

Copyright, 2005, University of Florida.
All rights, reserved.

This oral history may be used for research,
instruction, and private study under the provisions
of Fair Use. Fair Use is a provision of United States
Copyright Law (United States Code, Title 17, section
107) which allows limited use of copyrighted
materials under certain conditions.
Fair use limits the amount of materials that may be
used.

For all other permissions and requests, contacat the
SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM at
the University of Florida.

f-r k- mp & hen your son is going to come up and see met So I went up there

and got me a production line.

K: Oh, they did.--f

Y: Yel.

K: Oh. And how long were you on the production -line?

Y: Through the war.

K: Through the war. Oh. World War I.

Y: EFi. No, e!. two.

K: Two. *Bas.

Y: fjTot that old yet.

K: Sorry. So then how did you get into, into your profession there? Was it

at Ford or did you have to leave Ford?

/

PBC 48A
cml
Page 14

Y: I left Ford for the University of Detroit as a lab technician and working *to the

faculty. Then they -ef c{rPn and we had money troubles. We got to lay people off.

Does t)sound too good.

K: When was this?

Y: t'j)been going on for pretty close to ten years now.

"S-And the faculty at the University of Detroit is going down and down.

K: Oh, so you hav been working for the army all that long. t.
Mo- _, mCd-enlc e nQl ne-e
Y: YAnd heard that the army reded oonnit thoe n Vpy so
S ven'.t t.-re and find out five gi before they can process all the

paperwork.

K: Really? Oh. Where were you when World War II broke out? You were in Detroit on

a production line?

Y: Yes, I was oJ- F'! Ir' rr, -',,. ,

K: Were you affected by, by World War II?

Y: No.

K: Did you feel any discrimination because of the war?

Y: Not really. IOi kind of hard to see the Americans trying to skirt around.

K: What do you mean trying to skirt around?
OGn c '\ 0 (hnee/- N I no ?
Y: They see me ar re you Chinese? No. hliino ?

K: Oh.

Y: Indian? Finally come down. Japanese?- That s)about all I have.

K: Well, dlyi, was your father's business hurt at all'by theqkar?

Y: Not that I know of. He waEO in any "relocation camp,!.

K: HI.P2Easn ? Well, not he woul'It)have been. Not from the East Coast. Well, you

weren't either, were you?

Y: No.

K: No.

PBC 48A
cml
Page 15

Y: All he had to do was take the radio into the police station and they had a

big _f newspaper showing P^ radio at this police station.

K: Oh. Oh, you mean he turned it in.

Y: Yek. ".

K: Short wave radio,was it?

Y: No. No.

K: No? Wasn't 0 rcd ir-CV 4

Y: Broadcast.

K: Oh. So he was hurt as far as you know. Did you hear or read about the

concentration camps, the relocation camps?

Y: Ye ki .a"rcC( cbo0 :-

K: Did yoduknow anybody MtE who was in them?

Y: Quite a number of FD-s- in this Detroit area came out of those camps.

K: Yes. Well, I was in one too. We moved to the West Coast just in time to get caught

in that. When your parents were killed in that automobile accident, it was an

auto-train collision from what I hear, who notified you?

Y: Police.

K: Police. Oh.

Y: 0o Ccl Police.

K: s -, local police here? h, Yest, well of course if you were the only child

there wouldn't be any brothers of sisters to let you know. Have you maintained

contact with anyone else tha s7Q former resident of Yamato? Did you keep in touch

with Kaz Kamiya for example before he died?

Y: No. Umthm-

K: So you just lost contact a together.

Y: Only thing is a Christmas card or the __

K: __? In New York?

Y: Yesa.

PBC 48A
cml
Page 16

K: And when was the last time that you returned to the Yamato area?

Y: I dotremember that one.

K: Long time ago. Didn't you say about twenty years ago?

Y: I was in Miami when parents, y6u know.

K: Oh. Thts right. And you, I guess you went back to the funeral.
Y: Ye
K: You are married. Yeaeae, what is your wife's name?

Y: Mioko.

K: Mioko. Is she from the West Coast?

K: She was raised 6n the'Coast. Visited Florida for a couple of weeks dr something.

very short. Went back West Coast. Father died. Mother took them all to Japan.

She got raised in Japan.

K: Oh. I see. And you have a daughter.
S.
Y: Yea.

K: And aday what is her name?

Y: Sio.

K: Sio. Does she have an American name?

Y: Karen.

K: Karen. Which name does she use?

Y: Depends on her mood. Right now it's Sio.

K: Sio. eitos, she probably doesn't speak any Japanese, does she? Well, if her

mother was raised in Japan. I guess she might.

Y: She can understand a little bit.

K: A little bit.

Y: Her pronunciation is a little odd. -------_

K: What does she do?

Y: She1 reduction manager in one of those, audio-visual advertisement things that

make those slides.

K: Utthrmb. Oh. She works for an advertising agency?

PBC 48A
cml
Page 17

Y: audiovisual position. Makes those slides.

K: Oh. I see. And she is not living at home now. She is living nearby.

tti=s is she married?

Y: No.

K: So her name is also Yamauchi. Karen Sio.

Y: Sio.

K: Karen Yamauchi. Do you think you might want to return to the Yamato area when you

retire?

Y: No. Thing is, i) kind of warm and humid

K: Yes.

Y: And my wife doe likethe bugs.

K: Bugs. She doesn't like bugs? I guess in warm,humid climates, there are always bugs.

Y: They get big. Not small.

K: Yes. -tSali.

Y: So.

K: You doir( think you will.

Y: Whenever she sees bugs on the plants, she beats on them.

K: Oh. Well, the winters here though are pretty fierce, aren't they?

Y: Yei.

K: You think you might retire to the West Coast?

Y: Possible.

K: ti-iant You haveiT thought that far ahead. So you are presently working for the

defense department. Now th's expanding I understand.

Y: IVause Reagan says so.

K: Well, thank you very much. I can't think of anything more to ask you.

Y: Sorry I could ) add more but is been so long. I was so young.

K: Yes. aB)a. That has a lot to do with it3 he fact that you were young.V course I sdorit

remember a thing about it myself. Everything I know about Yamato is what Ivh heard

PBC 48A
cml
Page 18

K: from other people because I left when I was about two years old. So. Okay. Thank